Gift cards, stored-value cards, and other instruments are widely available for purchase and use at both online and offline merchants. Typical gift cards have a monetary value selected by the purchaser of the gift card. The purchaser presents the gift card to a recipient as a gift, incentive, or symbol of gratitude. However, some recipients view gift cards as impersonal as the gift cards typically require less effort by the purchaser compared to other gifts.
Some existing systems enable the purchaser of a gift card to include a short written message to the recipient on the face of the gift card or on the packaging of the gift card. Other systems enable the purchaser to select a particular pre-defined design of the gift card or to select the packaging. For example, the purchaser may select a birthday-themed gift card or a gift card emblazoned with “thank you.” Such existing methods for personalizing the gift card, however, are limited and only occur at presentation of the gift card. Further, the existing methods do not enable the purchaser to control or receive information regarding redemption of the gift card by the recipient.
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